“You don’t stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing.”
– George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist.
On wintry days when it was too cold to venture out or on summer days while resting post-swim, time was whittled away with board games. Trivial Pursuit, Sorry, Boggle, and, if you really wanted to cause a row, Monopoly. These were the staples that likely matched across many other homes across the globe in the days prior to extensive and easier access to video games. However, even now, with so many digital games to play, there is a desire to sit around a table with friends, or even strangers, and compete in a battle of wits in a fictional setting wherein all the pieces and rules are provided, but it’s up to you, the player, to create victory. In his latest project, filmmaker Simon Ennis (Man vs. Machine) explores the expansive world of board games and the people within it via The Hobby, having its world premiere at SXSW 2024.
The plot of The Hobby is fairly straight forward: jumping from location to location primarily around North America, Ennis talks to several individuals about their relationship with gaming. It begins in London where a chat with Dr. Irving Finkel, Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages, and cultures in the Department of the Middle East in the British Museum, provides a foundation for the film via examples of old Mesopotamian games. It’s a smart tactic as it establishes that, while the majority of the documentary will be spent on modern table games, there’s a history within humanity of utilizing games as a means of passing the time. So while some may come to the table, as it were, with a sense that The Hobby is all fun and games, the truth is that there’s a deep relationship between humanity and the games they play. Later on in the film, Ennis takes us to another location in which games of yore are stored, offering audiences (and the guests with the subject) an opportunity to look at some decades-old games that were used to educate and combat immorality, as games were generally seen as sinful. These aspects offer a glimpse of the past amidst a focus that’s primarily interested in the present. This takes the shape of several individuals whom Ennis follows on their respective journeys, some of which dovetail together.
Candice Harris in THE HOBBY. Photo Credit: Jesse McCracken. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
This is both the greatest strength and weakness of The Hobby. If you’re not particularly familiar with board games or table top games beyond the staples, a lot of what’s featured is going to feel incredibly foreign and neither Ennis nor his subjects really take the time to explain things. Then again, that’s not the point of The Hobby, and it shouldn’t be the reason you come here (that’s what your local game shop is for). Instead, what Ennis does is bring us inside a little bit with people like Tom Vazel of The Dice Tower, Candice Harris of BGG Podcast, the Fitch Family of Our Family Plays Games, Hanshi Li of Worthy OPawnent, and The Last Summit game maker John Hague. Ennis follows a similar pattern with each, a brief introduction along with their collection, and then we’re given snippets of them playing games or going about their daily lives as a discussion of what gaming means to them occurs. There’s no real driving connection for the majority of the documentary, with the bulk of the participants offering color commentary on their own perception of modern gaming. Of course, seeing the diverse nature of the subjects, as well as the varying complexity of the games, one does get a real sense of passion and depth about this world that many would likely write off as merely “a hobby.” If one were to create a narrative, it would center on those subjects who travel to Vegas for the inaugural 2022 World Series Board Game (WSBG) competition. Except, it’s introduced by one subject, a friend of Ennis’s, by the name of Dan Corbett, and, through his attendance, others are then brought in.
See, individually, the people whom we listen to, the stories they tell about how and why they got into gaming, the pieces of their lives we get to experience, they are, without a doubt compelling. We watch as Hague goes from self-proclaimed non-finisher to the launch of his Kickstarter for The Last Summit, and it’s incredibly emotional. The direction and editing are such that we feel like we’re confidants on Hague’s journey with his success or failure being our own. When Ennis shows us the final match in the 2022 WSBG and the sounds of Daft Punk’s “Solar Sailer” from the TRON: Legacy (2010) soundtrack kicks in, one cannot help but move to the edge of their seat as we observe the competition. Sure, we may not know the rules of play or who’s in what position, but we’re invested. (An extra hat-tip to whomever suggested the inclusion of “Solar Sailer” as a beautiful meta-reference to gaming for us older nerds.) However, what undercuts a lot of the connection overall is that there’s little in the form of a traditional documentary structure such as interviewees and locations given formal identification. In both cases, a lot of inference through either conversation or landscape shots in required (though Las Vegas really doesn’t need one), making it harder to lock in to individuals and their stories. Instead, they start to feel like player tokens on a living breathing board and we’re moving from place to place to observe their next choice.
Director Simon Ennis. Photo Credit: Calvin Thomas. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Thanks to a few friends made around the birth of Child #1, the Davidson game cabinet includes a few version of Fluxx, Exploding Kittens, The Logo Board Game, some Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly variations, as well as Candy Land and others. We know of Catan, but dare not settle there; we’ve dabbled in D&D, but we are soft and easily made crunchy by dragon’s breath; and are more likely to indulge in Rummikub (though it’s been ages) or Uno than anything with a prolonged playing length. That said, one can easily follow along and enjoy The Hobby without owning 100+ games like some of the subjects. More than that, Ennis places each interviewee into the role of hero, someone to be looked up to or admired, rather than admonished as folks with their own fascinations are wont to do when faced with things they themselves don’t fan over. For all the things that The Hobby may leave or keep unclear, the important thing that Ennis nails is the sense of community and sharing that should be and often is the center of gaming. Every hen house has its foxes, but, generally speaking, those who understand George Bernard Shaw understand why continuing to game matters.
Screening during SXSW 2024.
For more information, head to the official SXSW The Hobby webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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